Timber Wolf Excavating, LLC
Owner Jackson Jessop shows ‘sky’s the limit’ for his Tulsa-area contracting company
Have a conversation with Jackson Jessop about Timber Wolf Excavating, and he will likely tell you “the sky’s the limit.” He’s been reaching for it since buying the business nearly four years ago when the previous owner retired.
“I believe in actively growing Timber Wolf,” shared Jessop, who is President of the company based in Broken Arrow, Okla. “Expansion has taken us into new markets, so we have added services and significantly increased staff size.”
When he acquired Timber Wolf Excavating, it employed eight people. That included Jessop himself, who joined the firm approximately nine years ago as its lead superintendent. When he was an employee, the firm’s focus was on small residential projects.
“Residential remains a part of our overall work load, but now it’s centered on comprehensive site packages for developers,” Jessop said. “We provide clearing, mass earthwork, utility installation and final grading. We’ve also added concrete services that include foundations, street and driveway paving as well as sidewalk construction.”
Timber Wolf Excavating now offers the same services to general contractors and developers in the commercial and governmental markets throughout the state of Oklahoma. The company has as many as 20 jobs going at one time. While his preference is full site packages, Jessop said he will do straight earthwork, utility or concrete jobs.
“We really like street work because it frequently combines all aspects of the business, and we often do those projects as a prime contractor,” explained Jessop. “The services we don’t perform, such as asphalt paving or electrical hookups, we sub out. We also serve as a subcontractor quite a bit, so we have developed a good mix.”
Wide-ranging projects
Jessop said that Timber Wolf’s undertakings currently vary in size from about $100,000 to $3 million. Recent endeavors include a new baseball complex near Broken Arrow, where crew members moved close to 100,000 yards of dirt, installed storm drain, put down aggregate base for asphalt paving and handled some concrete work.
In Bartlesville, they installed about 1,000 feet of storm line that included 9- by 4-foot box culverts. A crew also moved roughly 70,000 yards of dirt for Owasso’s new fire training facility and another poured 3,000 yards of concrete for a casino hotel in Osage.
“The staff is up to around 50 and includes Office Manager Tyler Barlow and my brothers, Thomas and Sampson, who oversee field production,” Jessop noted. “Our experience means we can now handle nearly anything that comes our way. During the past four years the business has more than tripled in revenue and that’s thanks to the staff and its ability to handle larger projects.”
Inherited machines, upgraded dozers
Jessop gained three pieces of Komatsu equipment when he purchased Timber Wolf Excavating: a PC200LC excavator, a GD655 motor grader and a D51 dozer. His operators continue to use the PC200 and GD655.
“I look for maximum value, and Komatsu provides it with quality machinery that lasts,” stated Jessop. “The PC200 has close to 8,000 hours on it, has never given us trouble and is dependable. The grader provides the same reliability.”
Jessop traded the older, standard D51 and upgraded to an intelligent Machine Control D61EXi-23 approximately five years ago. More recently, he added a D65PXi-18 with Kirby-Smith Machinery Territory Manager Dan Rutz assisting Jessop on the trade and purchase.
“The integrated GPS system of the intelligent dozers makes us more productive and efficient,” said Jessop. “Because the system doesn’t require cables or masts to hook up and take down, the operators spend more time moving dirt. With the automatic grading, even our less-experienced operators can get to grade faster without having to stop and check grade. We build the models in-house, plug them in and let the machines do the work.
“Dan did a great job of detailing the benefits of the dozers and helping us determine the right sizes for our needs,” he continued. “He’s very knowledgeable about matching machines to applications, and, in general, we couldn’t be happier with him and Kirby-Smith.”
Timber Wolf Excavating uses the KOMTRAX telematics system to track the dozers’ hours and location for maintenance purposes. Jessop likes that Kirby-Smith also keeps tabs on the D65PXi-18 and performs complimentary routine scheduled services on it through the Komatsu CARE program.
“When it gets close (to a service interval), someone from Kirby’s Tulsa service department contacts us to set it up,” said Jessop. “Komatsu CARE is a great program that ensures everything is done right and on time. It fits with the exceptional service Kirby-Smith has provided through the years. Anytime we have a need, they respond quickly.”
Optimistic outlook
Jessop grew up around the industry as his dad owned a ready mix company in their home state of Arizona.
“After years of traveling, when I took the job with Timber Wolf, I determined that the Tulsa area was going to be my landing spot,” Jessop recalled. “The company has always been solid, and through the years we have developed a good rapport with our customers so a lot of our work comes from repeat business.
“I expect the expansion to go slower than it has lately,” he added. “I do believe, however, that we have room to grow and there are plans in place for that. The markets in this area still look good for the foreseeable future. I’m optimistic about our short- and long-term prospects.”
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